Mental Health
Happy Emotions Protect Against Heart Failure
People who are usually happy, enthusiastic and content are less likely to develop heart disease than those who tend not to be happy, according to a major new study published February 17. The authors believe that the study, published in the Europe’s leading cardiology journal, The European Heart Journal, is the first to show such an independent relationship between positive emotions and coronary heart disease.
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Depression and Cognitive Problems Not Necessarily Associated
Many clinicians believe that depression goes hand in hand with cognitive difficulties such as memory problems or difficulties concentrating and paying attention, but a recent review of nearly 20 years of literature conducted by researchers from UT Southwestern Medical Center has found that depression does not always lead to such impairments.
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Researcher Develops Technique for Quick Diagnosis of Mental Conditions
Is it really as easy to detect depression and other mental conditions as it is to detect a heart problem? It may be as a diagnostic technique invented by a Monash University researcher could make diagnosis and treatment a much more simple and rapid task.
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Those with Schizophrenia More Likely to Encounter Criminal Justice System
A new study shows that people being treated for schizophrenia are more likely than the general population to have encounters with the criminal justice system in the US. The study, published in the open access journal BMC Psychiatry, has shown that schizophrenia patients’ involvement with the criminal justice system is primarily driven by their being victims of crime and that the average annual per-patient cost of involvement with the criminal justice system was $1,429.
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Comparing Psychological Distress among Those With Kids and Without Mental Illness
Mental illness can have a profound effect on parenting. When parents are struggling with psychological distress, their children suffer the secondary behaviors. Parents can be hostile, insensitive and use harsh methods of discipline. Additionally, 23 to 50 percent of adults with psychiatric disorders also have substance use problems.
The children of the parents who suffer from psychiatric disorders have a higher risk for psychiatric disturbance and problems in academic and social spheres. Many mental health agencies do not evaluate basic information on their patients’ parenting status.
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Ambidextrous Children More Likely to Have Mental Health Problems
Children who are mixed-handed, or ambidextrous, are more likely to have mental health, language and scholastic problems in childhood than right- or left-handed children, according to a new study published in the journal Pediatrics. The researchers behind the study, from Imperial College London and other European institutions, suggest that their findings may help teachers and health professionals to identify children who are particularly at risk of developing certain problems.
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Ethnic Pride Good for Mental Health
Can your ethnicity play into your mental health? According to a new study, it can. This study, carried out by researchers at Northwestern University, Loyola University Chicago and Walden University, and featured in a Science Daily release, found that most adolescents who belong to an ethnic minority group wrestle with self-esteem and identity issues unique to their social group.
Climate Change Adversely Affects Mentally Ill
Climate change receives a lot of press, but most of this coverage is on the dangers we face in light of a threatened environment. One element that tends to be overlooked is the health consequences of climate change – most notably mental health.
A recent post in the Science Daily notes that leading mental health researchers warn that mental health consequences will be significant, but likely overlooked at the UN climate change conference in Copenhagen.
These consequences were examined by Dr. Lisa Page and Dr. Louise Howard from the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King’s College London. Both experts predict the effects of climate change will be felt most by those who with pre-existing serious mental illness. At the same time, there is likely to be an increase in the overall burden of mental disorders worldwide.
Dr. Page commented: “Climate change is assuming centre stage with the upcoming UN conference in Copenhagen. While delegates will discuss the effects of climate change and possible responses by the international governments, we fear that the effects of climate change on mental health will be largely ignored, posing a tremendous risk to the mental health of millions of people in the not-too-distant future.”
Climate change is likely to impact mental health in a number of ways, including natural disasters which have shown to produce adverse psychiatric outcomes in the past that include PTSD, major depression and somatoform disorders; those with chronic mental illness are often overlooked in the aftermath of a disaster in favor of those dealing with trauma; and the knowledge of man-made climate change could in itself have adverse effects on individual psychological well-being.
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Military Deployment’s Harmful Effects on Mental Health of Children
When a parent is called to duty overseas, the stress it can put on the family members left at home can be significant. In a recent Truth Out post, an account was shared of the attempted suicide by a seven-year old boy whose father was serving another tour in Iraq.
At the time of the Vietnam war, a man was exempt from the draft if he had a family as military leaders had an overwhelming concern about the harmful effects deployment could have on children. While the country has not re-instated the draft, nearly half of the troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan are parents.
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Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD)
By Leslie Thompson
The leaves are falling and the brisk, cool air of fall is permeating the streets. Winter is just around the corner, but instead of embracing the seasonal change, you’re feeling a bit down, a little moodier, or even depressed. If this sounds like you, know that you’re not alone: Many people suffer from these same symptoms once the temperature drops. Although many brush it off as simply a case of the winter blues, seasonal affective disorder (also known as SAD) is a type of depression that occurs annually—most often during the fall and winter months.
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